When we first reviewed The Dutch back in 2011, it was the hottest restaurant in town. Chef Andrew Carmellini’s post-Locanda Verde coming out party was a full-blown rager, and The Dutch was awarded best new restaurant of the year by
every food publication without a turkey leg as their logo. While we thought it was totally fine, we weren’t getting on our hands and knees like everyone else. Our initial opinion was that while The Dutch was a good restaurant, it was a little overrated.

Cut to a few years later, and The Dutch has evolved. It’s no longer a restaurant cooking with the goal of getting a certain number of stars in a
newspaper, and it’s finally settled into being what it always should have been: a restaurant cooking for the people. The menu is full of all-American greatest hits, from a very good burger to an even better fried chicken, and some raw bar in between. Everything is well-executed and satisfying, clearly cooked by people who know what they’re doing the kitchen.

The Dutch is not the hottest spot on the block anymore, but it’s still slammed all day every day, and it comes in handy for pretty much everything. From weekday lunch to weekend brunch, dinner with the girls, or 11pm eats any day of the week, The Dutch is never a bad move. These days, it might actually be underrated.

Food Rundown

Raw Bar

The Dutch doesn’t mess around when it comes to their selection of raw fish. They have at least five East Coast oyster options every night to go along with crab legs, lobster, shrimp, clams, etc. Don’t be shy.

One thing Chef Carmellini constantly crushes is steak tartare. It seems like every one of his restaurants have great ones, and they all have their own personality. The Dutch version is a finely chopped raw wagyu beef with pickled mushrooms. You need this.

Octopus & Squid, Pineapple & Hearts Of Palm

A really nice appetizer option to split, it’s light, fresh, and the combination of squid and pineapple is unusual and very interesting.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Tomato porn. Tastes as good as it looks in the bowl. If it’s on the menu, order it.

Saffron Bigoli

Speaking of things Carmellini does very well: pasta. The dinner menu features a couple options a night, which should never be overlooked. We loved the bigoli, a thicker version of bucatini, tossed with saffron, tomatoes, and ricotta salata. HOLLER.

Hot Fried Chicken

Come for brunch, eat fried chicken. Trust us. It’s on the lunch menu, too. Not on the dinner menu, though.

Burger

Speaking of midday calorie splurges, another house specialty that’s only on the brunch and lunch menu? Yup, that beautiful, beautiful double decker meat sandwich. You want this in your life.

Hanger Steak

The Dutch makes a great steak. The hanger steak is one of our go-tos here, and the kimchi fried rice with an egg on top is a really nice compliment.

Sea Scallops

Scallops with a bunch of pretty things that are cooked perfectly and taste really good. Yup. That’s it.